North Carolina holds on in women's tournament

Friday

Mar 7, 2014 at 12:01 AMMar 7, 2014 at 11:45 PM

Jimmy DuPress / Times-News correspondent

GREENSBORO ó Danielle Butts pulled down a crucial rebound to let North Carolina hand third-seeded Maryland its 27th and final loss in the Atlantic Coast Confernece Tournament for womenís basketball Friday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

But what seemed like a sure thing with 5:27 remaining and the Tar Heels leading by nine points went down to the wire, as North Carolina went the rest of the way without scoring a field goal in its 73-70 quarterfinal victory against the Terrapins.

The victory sets up a third meeting with rival Duke at 7:30 tonight in the second semifinal game, with North Carolina having beaten the Blue Devils twice during the regular season. The Tar Heels won 89-78 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 10, then closed the regular season Sunday with a 64-60 victory at Carmichael Arena.

Alyssa Thomas led the Terrapins (24-6), who move to the Big Ten Conference for the 2014-15 season, with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Marylandís final record in the tournament is 50-27, including 15-10 under coach Brenda Frese.

Thomas made a critical mistake with 17 seconds left when she lost the ball on a spin move in the lane, and Butts caused a tie-up with the possession arrow favoring North Carolina.

Marylandís Alicia DeVaughn fouled Brittany Rountree with 16 seconds left, and her two free throws gave the Tar Heels their margin of victory.

Brionna Jones was fouled by McDaniel with 2.5 seconds on the clock, but she missed both free throws and Butts dribbled away with the rebound.